EAF: DCS Harrier Training Programme:
Proposed training programme for new pilots to the Harrier in European Air Force. The Harrier requires different thinking to most conventional aircraft, due to the vectored thrust and ability to hover. Take off and landing processes and approaches are different, nothing major, but it is an adjustment. Once in flight the Harrier is the same as any other fourth generation aircraft in the way it responds to controls and performs. However, as with other fourth generation aircraft it requires a knowledge of the systems to get the best out of it. I’d like feedback or suggestions for things that should be covered, but this is what I have come up with so far:
Aircraft Control:
Topic 1: Control assignments and start-up
Topic 2: Taxi and take off
Topic 3: Short landing
Topic 4: Low speed handling
Topic 5: Transition to vertical flight
Topic 6: Hovering
Topic 7: Vertical take-off
Topic 8: Vertical landing
Topic 9: Carrier Ops
Aircraft systems:
Topic 1: Essential systems and how to access them
Topic 2: DMT use
• Attacking designated targets
• CCRP bombing
• FLIR ( Forward Looking Infra Red)
Topic 3: TGP use
• Finding targets
• Laser codes
• Designating targets
Topic 4: Navigation
• Waypoints
• TACAN
• Kneeboard
Topic 5: Night flying
Processes:
Topic 1: Air to air refuelling
Topic 2: JTAC cooperation
Between those of us that have had the Harrier for some time we can easily cover all of these subjects and pass on our experiences. All it requires is a few more pilots purchasing the Harrier module! It’s a really enjoyable aircraft to fly and a good challenge. Yes it is modern and it uses missiles but when you look at some of the missions we have to fly there is the usual WW2 style ground attack mission as well as precision strikes with guided weapons. Sometimes LGBs just aren’t a practical solution in a hostile environment, so a low level, high speed, strike with Mk-82 Snakeye retarded bombs is the only way to do it!
The EAF Harrier Training page has a collection of YouTube playlists that detail how to do each of the above processes in detail. It also contains the custom kneeboards that I have created for download. Custom RAF skins added This will be updated when new information is released.
OCU Missions for Normandy and Georgia added to Training Pages
I think we can cover quite a lot in a lesson, maybe call them topics instead of lesson. It sounds less daunting!
Controls and the terminology was key at the start for me, then how to start her up, then the right procedure for a take off from the ground, circuit and then landing.
Move onto tacan, air to air refuelling and awl system
Moving onto carrier.
Then weapons with the dmt, tpod, lasing and using autopilot.
Then night ops with the above.
Using the map and navigation is still a weak point.
All of the above could be covered in quite a short amount time with expectation that the pilot in training will put the time in between lessons as the need to do these thing quite quickly is needed in a mission.
A great way to Nav is to use the Bullseye, it’s on every map, a blue and a red circle on the map use the ruler tool,(on the menu bar at the top), if icons are on right click on the bullseye and draw a line to your aircraft, IE 315 from Bulls at 20 miles Angels 15, this will be a lot easier once the rolling map is implemented
All in all a good program OD and theres loads of tutorials covering just about everything on utube
I’ve updated the OP to say topics instead of lessons. They could definitely be covered in one ‘lesson’ but my guess is sometimes they’ll need repeating a few times.
Maybe we should devise some tests too…I have some ideas!
I’ll have to find the time to make the missions up, but I can do that. Or I could try and adapt one that is pre-existing. I’ll see what I can do, but time is getting really squeezed right now. May have to trade flying time for mission building.
I got a bit of a break this afternoon and I have made a mission that should allow for all of the above to be carried out. Aircraft will be flying from Kutaisi.
Included Aircraft:
2 x Pupil test Harriers
4 x Instructor Harriers
2 x AJS37 Viggen
2 x Hawk aggressor trainers
Target Zones: Senaki
[ul][li]Two columns of BMPs - designed for CCIP targeting for Mk-82 Snakeyes and Cluster munitions.
[/li][li]One Column of T-55s - designated by JTAC (Code 1688, marked with Green Smoke) for training purposes.
[/li][li]One Column of Trucks - Strafing, Rockets and Cluster munitions[/ul]
[/li]Kobuleti
SAM training area with SA-8 and SA-9 missile launchers
As well as that I have a set of triggers that need testing but should be able to show whether someone can conduct a vertical landing in a restricted area. Get within a 25ft radius and the pupil will get green smoke, within a 75ft diameter and there will be orange smoke, within a 100ft diameter and there will be red smoke. I think it is safe to say that we want the green smoke. This test will need to be passed five times before progressing to carrier trials.
Non-weapons training:
The map has a Tanker flying from Tbilisi and will then fly a Race-track pattern from the Tbilisi area to the Black Sea (so long straight legs!)
USS Tarawa is sailing in the Black Sea
Navigation training to be conducted with TACAN between bases (where available - to be confirmed at a later date)
The smoke signals don’t seem to be working at all, and I can not see a reason why. I’ve even simplified it down to just having to have an aircraft in the right zone, regardless of height or speed. I’ll keep working on it. The rest of it is ok, the Tanker takes off without issue the Carrier is present. Happy to fly it with anyone, just want to get these smoke triggers to work.
Got the Vertical Landing Test Zones to work…they will fire signal flares depending on which zone is landed in. There seems to be a problem with some of the smoke markers and putting them on units (which is what I had been doing).
Now I’ve got to establish why the JTAC isn’t lasing targets, he’s lasing some dead-ground!
Yes please, just don’t make it a Pyotr (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battlecruiser_Pyotr_Velikiy), that seems to be the russian equivalent of an AEGIS cruiser, launches S-300’s in pairs and when placed in the middle of the channel it have a range to get to both London and Paris at the same time…
Bad luck last night gents. Just got the thing started and up and running (with Kneeboard help - thx OD) and was tooling around S of the base near waypoint 4 looking for whatever I was supposed to be attacking when I spotted a couple of SAM smoke trails behind me. Was just about to start pumping chaff & flares when Windows crashed into BSOD.
Hour later of booting into BIOS and the Overclocking screen & its PC is up and running again… Natures way of telling you you need a new PC?
Crashes is unfortunately not completely unknown in DCS, though I haven’t had it happen to me all that often. So while you might need new hardware, it’s not sure that’s the reason. If you have it happen more often, you should probably look into it on the ED forum, but if it’s a one time think it might just be a fluke.
Though for me when DCS have crashed, it have been just DCS, Windows (10) would keep running, and I could eventually kill DCS. If you get a BSOD or simply sudden death, it’s more likely hardware related.
We’ve done some testing and I’ve got some feedback which I can hopefully have implemented before Thursday. We’ve also found a bug in the TGP and DMT after a while and how to solve it (turn the DMT off and on again!). We’ve then practised toss bombing and we can now nail it pretty much every time! It’s quite exciting using LGBs from extremely low level at high speed. If we can get to grips with this technique we can really use in on servers for precision hits with the designating aircraft around 8-10 miles away. They don’t have to be too high, so long as they can keep the target in view for the attacking aircraft. In a flight of four we could have two designating on different codes and two running in to hit different targets, or if it was a big target just use one code and have both attackers hitting with a couple of bombs on the same target. As a way to win a map it might be unmatched. It’s just a shame the Viggen doesn’t have LGBs too.
It’s a really enjoyable aircraft to fly and a good challenge. Yes it is modern and it uses missiles but when you look at some of the missions we have to fly there is the usual WW2 style ground attack mission as well as precision strikes with guided weapons. Sometimes LGBs just aren’t a practical solution in a hostile environment, so a low level, high speed, strike with Mk-82 Snakeye retarded bombs is the only way to do it!